Glazed Lemon Cookies
We planted a Meyer lemon tree in our backyard a couple of years ago. Last year, when I harvest the tree’s first crop, I baked this lemon cake. This year, I decided to use my lemons in a cookie recipe.
These cookies really embody the essence of lemon, using both the fruit’s zest and juice. The cookie is soft and slightly cakey. The glaze is smooth and sweet. Eating them is like eating bits of candied lemon.
The sugar in the cookies is balanced out by the tang from the lemons. These are actually refreshing treats that are not too sweet. They are perfect with some afternoon tea or, if like me, you believe that calories don’t count during the holidays, some vanilla ice cream.
I also love these cookies because they are really pretty. The glaze is shiny and slightly opaque with flecks of yellow lemon zest throughout. They deserve to be hung on Christmas trees as little ornaments.
I hope you are inspired to give these a try this holiday season–no matter what your reasons are for baking cookies.
Glazed Lemon Cookies
From Everyday Food
For the cookies:
- All-purpose flour, 2 cups
- Baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
- Lemon zest, 1 tablespoon
- Lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
- Unsalted butter, 1 stick, softened, at room temperature
- Granulated sugar, 1 cup
- Egg, 1 large
- Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
For the glaze:
- Confectioners’ sugar, 2 cups
- Lemon zest, 2 tablespoons
- Lemon juice, 1/3 cup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beant in flour mixture.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 17 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets once halfway through. Let cool two minutes on sheets then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare glaze by mixing all the ingredients together until smooth. Spread cookies with glaze and let set, about 1 hour. You may want to glaze the cookies on a piece of parchment paper in case the glaze drizzles down.
Makes 2 dozens.
Hi Erica,
This is Tamie, Iva Lou’s friend. I get persimmons (the elongated ones that get real squishy when ripe) every year and am delighted to see the muffin recipe.
I have a bag of lemons coming tomorrow from a friend and I’m going to make the cookie recipe. However, I’m not sure which lemons I am getting. It appears as thou the lemons you used are the rougher skinned ones vs the smooth skinned lemons. Correct?
I am wondering if you can put “From phoebebites” on the recipe so when I print it, I know where it came from for future reference?
OMNOMNOM
Hi Tamie,
Thanks for visiting the blog. I am glad you are giving some of these recipes a try. I think any kind of lemon would work for the cookie recipe. I hope it turns out well. I will try to tweak my blog, so it showed that it comes from Phoebe Bites. Thanks for the idea. Merry Christmas!